Hop and Bark
by Crezhul
Summary: Even the simplest of things can turn to mayhem. Todoroki and Midoriya get turned into animals during a stroll through the neighbourhood and they must catch the culprit to reverse the effects of the quirk. [TodoDeku Yaoi]


**Hop and Bark**

Fallen leaves formed a crunchy pathway for the young couple strolling through the neighbourhood one autumn night.

Izuku curled his lips, squeezing his boyfriend's gloved hand. "I still can't believe we had the same costume idea."

Casting another glance at Izuku, Shouto marvelled at the sleek fall of red hair framing the side of Izuku's face. "Me neither, I thought you'd go as All Might."

The couple was decked out in cosplay of each other's hero costumes and headed to a cosplay party in the sleepy district.

Grinning, Izuku nudged Shouto with his elbow. "Hey, I'm not that predictable."

"You're not." Shouto gave him a tiny smile and thanked his lucky stars for bringing the joy that was Izuku into his life.

Light breeze ruffled their hair as they rounded a corner, their smiles faded at what they spotted next. A beefy man flicked a knife at a woman, grabbing at her handbag.

"Drop the knife." Izuku's face darkened. "Let her go."

Startled, the criminal's pointy ears shot up and he hissed at them. "Children should mind their own business."

Refusing to dignify the crook's drivel with an answer, Shouto nodded at Izuku, leaving the trembling woman to Izuku's care.

This will be over in a cinch, Shouto predicted, tugging at his own glove but before he could move another finger, something yellow blasted from the crook's eyes, sending Shouto to his knees.

When Shouto came to, he lied on the ground with an odd sight filling his vision. A lop eared rabbit was peering down at him.

And dismissing the strangeness, he rose to his feet, letting his gaze rake the leaf strewn street for what mattered the most. "Izu-"

"Thank Kami you're okay," Izuku said at the same time, voice vibrating with relief.

Mirroring the sentiment, Shouto whipped around to face his partner but to his confusion no one stood there.

Moreover, the world around him with jarringly amiss with swollen houses towering the street, dwarfing him. Had he been shrunk by a downsizing quirk?" Where are you? I can't find you."

"I-I'm right next to you, Sh-Shouto."

A nudge at his feet prompted Shouto to glance down at the bunny and had he been opened to the idea, he would assume the bunny was Izuku trying to get his attention.

Be that as it may, his partner's next words shook his reality.

"It's m-m-me, Shouto...we-we got turned into animals!"

What the hell? Shouto paused, taking in the talking rabbit's twitching nose and coat of fur matching the colour of Izuku's hair.

Unsettled, he looked down at his own feet, spotting a set of fluffy red and white paws.

"It's the crook's quirk...he turned you into a p-p-puppy and me into a...what am I?" Izuku flailed around, his long ears flopping.

"A rabbit."

Making a strangled noise, Izuku fretted over the news. "R-r-rabbit? This won't do, we can't stay like this, we gotta find that man or else-."

Shouto nuzzled his partner, knowing his partner was imagining the consequences of staying in these forms. Shouto would keep him safe. "Don't worry, the two of us will find him together."

"You're right." Izuku sagged against him, speaking after a short time. "Let's look for clues."

Trotting over to the spot where the thief stood last, Izuku and Shouto used their enhanced night vision to study the fallen leaves for footprints and tread marks.

Something glistened among the leaves, catching Shouto's eye, so he brushed them away carefully, finding what he did not expect. "This is the criminal's knife."

"It's clean too, the woman probably got away then!" Izuku cheered, wiggling his ears.

"It is likely."

Lowering his head, Shouto sniffed the knife, inhaling the distinct scent of something moving off in the distance.

"I can smell the criminal, I think."

Thus, satisfied with the means of tracking the criminal, he broke into a gallop, paws clopping on the roadside and Izuku sprang after him, wagging his little tail.

Autumn breeze whipped through the neighbourhood which was strikingly different near ground level. Crickets chirped louder, critters slithered across the grass and single storey houses jutted in the air like poles.

Danger soon taunted them at a dimly lit junction, weaving unsettling ideas in their minds about their lack of visibility. Fortunately, two cars comprised the sole traffic at that junction, allowing them to hurdle across without accident.

After scampering into a quiet part of the neighbourhood, a whisper of unease teased Shouto's senses, leaving him unable to shake the suspicion of being watched.

"Someone is looking at us," he said softly, cocking his head.

Eyeing the windows and doors around them, Izuku agreed."I-I think so too."

There was no telling what it was or their intent, yet Shouto was prepared to give his all to protect his partner from them.

Those canine instincts were affirmed when four pups stalked out of the alley, setting their thirsty eyes on Izuku.

A rush of wrenching fear pushed Shouto to step in front of his partner, demanding to know the pack's intentions."What do you want?"

"We're hungry," answered the creamed-coloured Shiba Inu leading the pack.

Growling at the implications, Shouto racked his brain for an escape strategy which did not involve fighting the dogs or letting any harm befall his partner.

And to his growing alarm, Izuku left the cover of safety, hopping over to Shouto's side. "Izuku?"

Lifting his furry chin, Izuku confronted the dogs. "We-we're not really animals...we're humans and we were going to a party when we got turned into animals."

"Help us find the guy who did this to us and we'll take you to the party, you can eat as much food as you want, maybe even find a home!"

Scoffing, the red Corgi rejected Izuku's proposal. "Don't believe him, he'll say anything to save himself."

"We've been eating nothing but dumpster trash all week," grumbled the smallest pup of the pack."I want real food...and a home."

A wave of pride swept through Shouto, for his partner had once more conjured up a sound strategy under pressure. Not only would said strategy enable them to find the thief faster but also provide food and shelter for the starving pups. Izuku was truly a treasure.

Shiba Inu's intense gaze roved over the expectant faces of his pack members before settling on Izuku and Shouto. His next words would determine the next line of action. "We'll help you."

Letting out a sigh with relief, Izuku burrowed his face into Shouto's fur, urging Shouto to gently rub Izuku's back. However, he lacked hands to do so, thus he kept his tone soothing when he complimented Izuku."You did great, Izuku."

"You're really not a dog." Shiba trotted towards them, voice leaking with amusement over their affectionate display. "So what did your guy look like?"

Without skipping a beat, Shouto offered a laundry list of the thief's features. "Tall, stocky with triangular ears, whiskers and a dusting of black spots around the hands and arms."

"Got it, now watch and learn how we dogs do things." Shiba Inu lifted his head up to the sky, letting loose a howl capable of waking up the neighbourhood.

"Anyone see a spotty two-legger?"

"None here," yelled a dog in the west of the neighbourhood.

A raspy voiced dog in the south replied in the negative. "No."

Shouto flicked his tail back and forth, finding the lack of positive answers as discouraging as the widening gap between the thief and Shouto. Perhaps it was better to split up and search for the thief instead.

Preparing to voice this, Shouto turned to the leader when a response in the east confirmed the thief's location.

"Over here in the alley by the fisherlegger's house!"

Wiggling his nose in awe, Izuku said, "this is so cool, to think dogs communicated these kinds of things."

Taken back by the remark, the Corgi huffed at Izuku who chuckled.

"I have a plan," Shouto announced, banking his hopes on a theory that could potentially net everything they wanted, setting them on route to the party in no time.

# # #

In the shadows of the alley, a thief dangled a necklace between his fingers, admiring his steal. "Mmhm this'll fetch me a killing."

Distracted, he failed to notice two Chihuahuas prowling towards him until they growled at his ankles. Grrr Grrr.

Shrieking, he threw his meaty hands in the air, dropping the necklace. "Wh-what's with you?"

"Ge-get away!"

The little pups dodged his stomps and snapped at his now wobbly ankles, driving him into the bowels of the alley where something lied in wait.

Sweat beaded on the man's forehead as the hot breath of Shiba Inu and Corgi prickled his legs; he was surrounded by canines.

Padding into the alley at that moment, Shouto barked, drawing the thief's attention to Shouto and Izuku.

Recognition flashed across the thief's face and a satisfied Shouto noted his plan was working. He had been right about the thief's inherent fear of dogs, given the thief's feline features. "Get him."

Each dog pounced on the man, wrenching out a scream from him."Waaah!"

"Make them stop, make them stop, I'll change you back, just make them stop pl-please!"

Arf Arf. Complying, Shouto called the pups off and waited. "That's enough."

All eyes bored into the frazzled thief who sat up, blasted a red beam at Izuku and Shouto, reversing the Quirk's effects.

And ignoring the tingling in his own body after transforming, Shouto checked on Izuku first, nodded at the dogs who scurried away as Shouto slipped off the glove, encasing the criminal in an icy prison. "There."

Two hands wrapped around Shouto, drawing him into Izuku's warm embrace. "We did it, your plan worked!"

"Our plans did," Shouto whispered, resting his head on Izuku's shoulder, delighted to finally hold Izuku in his arms again.

Supporting Izuku was second nature to Shouto, no quirks or anyone could ever get in the way of that and tonight's incident proved it true; together they could do anything.

Pulling away, Izuku bent down low, patting each dog on the head."You really helped us out, you're heroes too."

Warmth flooded Shouto's chest as he watched the eager dogs huddle around Izuku, licking Izuku's crooked hands. Finding a home for their little friends was a must.

Sirens flashed in the distance after the police drove off with the thief in custody. A nudging at Shouto's leg, drew his attention to Shiba Inu giving him an expectant look.

"Let's get you fed." Shouto scooped up Shiba Inu into his arms, beckoning the other dogs to follow them.

"Uhn, I'll ask my mother about adopting this little guy, I think she'll love him," Izuku said.

"Great idea." Shouto stroked Shiba Inu's ears, a contented whine following. And speaking of family, he would ask Fuyumi about re-homing one of the pups as well.

Umm Shouto." Izuku began, flicking his gaze between the houses lining the road. "Which way is the party, again?"

The End

* * *

 **A/N:** This was inspired by a prompt posted to the Fanfiction Discord group by story morphed into something the dogs found homes with partygoers and Midoriya Inko adopted the Shiba Inu and Fuyumi, the Corgi. My next projects include a dark TodoDeku multi-chap AU and a smutty one shot. Thank you for reading!


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